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May. 6th, 2007 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyoftimeThe room is darkened, the only light centred on the storyteller’s face. His audience, mostly children, gather around him, in chairs and on the ground. The one adult woman in the room sits cross-legged in the back of the room, waiting patiently for the tale to begin.
“I will tell you the story of the most dangerous of all the gods,” the storyteller announces. He takes his time preparing himself, letting the anticipation grow. “Once upon a time,”
Once upon a time, very long ago, when even your fathers’ mothers and fathers were not yet born, the kingdom was peaceful. It was ruled by a kind and just king and his beautiful queen. They had alliances with their neighbouring countries, and all was well with the land.
On the Day of Feasting, when all the land was rejoicing in its prosperity, the king and queen sponsored a great festival for their subjects. Children marched throughout the land waving banners and singing songs, and the people competed in tournaments to show off their courage and skill.
As the day reached the mid point, a mighty wind shook the festival, and the most terrible sounds overtook the singing. A blue box, taller than even I, appeared in the festival. The king and the queen were overjoyed, thinking that it was the chariot of the gods, and that perhaps even the High god himself had come to partake in the festivities. Out of the chariot walked a giant.
They say he was as tall as an elda tree, and nearly as thin as one. His hair was as brown as the ground, and his eyes were old, older than any others anyone has seen. The king and the queen welcomed him to the festival. He identified himself the Doctor, and many flocked to him to see this god who had come among them. They fed him the flesh of Skeathos and the brain of a Skopelas, and, for his drink, the fresh blood of the few enemies left to our country, slaughtered the day before.
At the end of the Day of Feasting, the Doctor was not pleased. He proclaimed a curse over the land and returned to his chariot. The king and queen mourned this misfortune, and worried for the future of the land. They called together their best advisors to tell them how to proceed. A week passed before anything befell, then a month. The kingdom settled into an uneasy time of waiting.
Reports flew over the land: the Doctor had caused a farmer’s milk to spoil, the Doctor had created a storm to ruin the crops. Children were stolen away in the night, and the people thought surely that was the work of the Doctor. The king and queen dealt with these troubles as best they could and waited uneasily for the final curse they thought was yet to come.
Finally, a messenger came to the palace, bringing the news they had waited for: the Doctor, after lurking in the farthest corners of the kingdom and planting seeds of discontent among the people, had caused a group to rise against the mayors appointed to their towns. They declared themselves separate, a new kingdom made of the Doctor’s followers. The king and queen were horrified, and had no choice but to go to war against them.
The Doctor appeared and disappeared from the kingdom, but he was always watching. Many of the good people were seduced to the side of the rebels. The kingdom shrank and grew as it lost and gained land from its enemies. The king and queen despaired of ever regaining peace. The people of the kingdom were miserable, and the war caused many to become very poor. The king and queen finally sent a peace treaty to their enemies, and all the kingdom prayed that the Doctor would show them mercy and end the war.
The messenger took the treaty to the headquarters of the rebels, and there he found the Doctor and his chariot. He pleaded with the Doctor for forgiveness and peace, and the Doctor, touched by the messenger’s sincerity, granted it. One of the rebels, enraged by the messenger, and the Doctor’s response, attempted to kill the god with a gun. The Doctor’s anger burned against him and destroyed the building. The king and queen retook all the land that the kingdom had lost, and the remainder of the rebels were punished and banished.
The children stir amongst themselves. One raises a hand. “Was the Doctor destroyed with the rebels?”
The storyteller smiles at the child and shakes his head. “The Doctor is a god. No one can kill him. He watches us still.”
The woman from the back stands and reaches for the door to leave the storyteller’s room. He catches a glimpse of her face and is struck still. Her eyes. Old, older than any he’d ever seen, he thinks wildly, and calls out to her. “Wait!”
The woman stops and turns to him. “Yes?”
“What is your name?”
She smiles sadly and answers him. “The most dangerous of all the gods.”
He cannot reach her before she is gone, but he sees a rectangular shape of blue and hears the most terrible sound he will ever hear in his life.
Community:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
oncoming_storms
Prompt: 1.1, The Most Dangerous
Word Count: 879
Rating: G
“I will tell you the story of the most dangerous of all the gods,” the storyteller announces. He takes his time preparing himself, letting the anticipation grow. “Once upon a time,”
Once upon a time, very long ago, when even your fathers’ mothers and fathers were not yet born, the kingdom was peaceful. It was ruled by a kind and just king and his beautiful queen. They had alliances with their neighbouring countries, and all was well with the land.
On the Day of Feasting, when all the land was rejoicing in its prosperity, the king and queen sponsored a great festival for their subjects. Children marched throughout the land waving banners and singing songs, and the people competed in tournaments to show off their courage and skill.
As the day reached the mid point, a mighty wind shook the festival, and the most terrible sounds overtook the singing. A blue box, taller than even I, appeared in the festival. The king and the queen were overjoyed, thinking that it was the chariot of the gods, and that perhaps even the High god himself had come to partake in the festivities. Out of the chariot walked a giant.
They say he was as tall as an elda tree, and nearly as thin as one. His hair was as brown as the ground, and his eyes were old, older than any others anyone has seen. The king and the queen welcomed him to the festival. He identified himself the Doctor, and many flocked to him to see this god who had come among them. They fed him the flesh of Skeathos and the brain of a Skopelas, and, for his drink, the fresh blood of the few enemies left to our country, slaughtered the day before.
At the end of the Day of Feasting, the Doctor was not pleased. He proclaimed a curse over the land and returned to his chariot. The king and queen mourned this misfortune, and worried for the future of the land. They called together their best advisors to tell them how to proceed. A week passed before anything befell, then a month. The kingdom settled into an uneasy time of waiting.
Reports flew over the land: the Doctor had caused a farmer’s milk to spoil, the Doctor had created a storm to ruin the crops. Children were stolen away in the night, and the people thought surely that was the work of the Doctor. The king and queen dealt with these troubles as best they could and waited uneasily for the final curse they thought was yet to come.
Finally, a messenger came to the palace, bringing the news they had waited for: the Doctor, after lurking in the farthest corners of the kingdom and planting seeds of discontent among the people, had caused a group to rise against the mayors appointed to their towns. They declared themselves separate, a new kingdom made of the Doctor’s followers. The king and queen were horrified, and had no choice but to go to war against them.
The Doctor appeared and disappeared from the kingdom, but he was always watching. Many of the good people were seduced to the side of the rebels. The kingdom shrank and grew as it lost and gained land from its enemies. The king and queen despaired of ever regaining peace. The people of the kingdom were miserable, and the war caused many to become very poor. The king and queen finally sent a peace treaty to their enemies, and all the kingdom prayed that the Doctor would show them mercy and end the war.
The messenger took the treaty to the headquarters of the rebels, and there he found the Doctor and his chariot. He pleaded with the Doctor for forgiveness and peace, and the Doctor, touched by the messenger’s sincerity, granted it. One of the rebels, enraged by the messenger, and the Doctor’s response, attempted to kill the god with a gun. The Doctor’s anger burned against him and destroyed the building. The king and queen retook all the land that the kingdom had lost, and the remainder of the rebels were punished and banished.
The children stir amongst themselves. One raises a hand. “Was the Doctor destroyed with the rebels?”
The storyteller smiles at the child and shakes his head. “The Doctor is a god. No one can kill him. He watches us still.”
The woman from the back stands and reaches for the door to leave the storyteller’s room. He catches a glimpse of her face and is struck still. Her eyes. Old, older than any he’d ever seen, he thinks wildly, and calls out to her. “Wait!”
The woman stops and turns to him. “Yes?”
“What is your name?”
She smiles sadly and answers him. “The most dangerous of all the gods.”
He cannot reach her before she is gone, but he sees a rectangular shape of blue and hears the most terrible sound he will ever hear in his life.
Community:
oncoming_stormsPrompt: 1.1, The Most Dangerous
Word Count: 879
Rating: G
